Recorder



June 13, 1944. A. E. ANDERsoN RECORDER 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 6, 1940 s l. Ill

INV ENT OR. //yer 5SH/:derden BY A ORNEY.

June 13, 1944. A. vE. ANDERSON `2,350,994

RECORDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 6, 1940 INV ENT OR. /4/ber E, finde/5er? SUPPL ro BY Y ATTO EY.

Patented .Je 13,

S Signal corporation of E. Anderson, Holbrook, Mass.,

company, n,

assigner to i, g.

Application c, isssrscriai No. :n.551

' z claims. (ci. 11s-sasl ing other short time intervals.

In echo depth sounding a compressionalwave impulse is transmitted into the water and the impulse reflected from the ocean or river bottom. as the case may be, is received and caused to effect a marking of a record paper by a stylus which is moved at a uniform speed over the paper.

Since the time interval between the transmitted and reflected signal isproportional to the distance travelledI by the wave impulse. the time intervals involved are very short, particularly when shallow depths are to be measured. It is therefore that the apparatus operate with a great degree of accuracy and that it maintain this accuracy imder service conditions. The present invention provides a construction adapted to this end.

Where the instrument is used for survey work.

particularly where very shallow depths may be encountered. the draft of the ship on which the apparatus is installed becomes significant relativetothedepthbeingmeasured. Thismayalso be true of the condition of the tide when the measurement is made. In order to obtain readings of uniform meaning it is necessary to make.

suitable corrections for draft and tide. The presy ent invention provides an arrangement whereby corrections for these factors can manually be made in the recorded depth values without the necessity oi' making individual calculations after the record is made.

Moreover, by means of the present invention compensation in the recorded distances can also manually be made for the squat of the vessel, which is the change in draft due to the vessel's speed. Compensationcan also be made for primary elevation above sea level or some other datum which often must be taken into account when surveying rivers.

In order to be able to read the depth recorded on the chart accurately over a wide range of depth; it is necessaryto expand the depth calibrations ofthe chart. Sincethechartwidthi is limited, this is'best accomplished by the range of depths which can be recorded with a given setting of the instrument. The present invention provides an arrangement for this pur-- pose which can be operated indeently oi and without disturbing the draft. squat, tide'and elevation adjustments.

When surveying shallow depths. such as river bottoms. it is often desirable to be able to differentiate between individual soun For this purpose the record paper is,ca`used to travel at a relatively high speed. On the other hand, when working over large we: of water areas such as in the mouths of large rivers or in areas. extreme detail is not required. Therefore. in order to avoid waste of record paper, the paper may be caused to travel at a much slower speed. The present invention is arranged .to provide various paperspeeds together with an indicating device for automatically indicating the paper speed which hasibeen selected.

Means is also provided `for complely stopping the paper feed without shutting down the recording machine as may be blc while a survey vessel is proceeding toward a new survey station.

A further feature of the invention provides a positive means for automatically advancing the record paper while at the same time permitting free manual advance of the paper.

so Another feature of the invention is the provision of an arrangement whereby a so-cailed "nx" mark can be made across the record paper at any desired instant, for example, when the ship crosses a predetermined position.

35 A still further feature of the invention provides a non-reversing mounting for the recording stylus-carrying arm whereby damage to the stylus or to the signal transmitting timing system while adjustments are being made is prevented.

40 The above and other Vfeatures of the present invention will best be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l represents a front elevation of my recording instrument broken away in parts: Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken. along the line II--Il in Fig. 1: Fig. 2a is a partial baci: elevation of the same device; Fig. Sis a front elevation of the arrangement for. advancing the record poverina. 4 is an end elevation .of the same; Fig. 5 is an elevation of a portion of the automatic paper-advance mechanism: Fig.6isapartialseetional0ngtheline VI-VIofllig.5;Idg.'lisawiringdiagramof the paper-feed indicating system: Fig. la is a le perspective view of a portion of the latter; Eig. 8 l

showsin elevation the recording stylus holder as well as a circuit diagram of the arrangement for producing fix marks; Fig. 9 is a schematic drawing vof a time-recording arrangement; and Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of the signal impulsetransmitting circuit.

Referring, rst to Figs. 1l and 2, a recording stylus I is arranged to move rapidly at a constant speed over a record paper 2. The -stylus is mounted on an arm 3 fixed by screws I to a cam i which is provided with acentral hub I by which the cam is mounted on a shaft 1. The cam is held in place on the shaft by ball bearings 3 on the one side and by the shoulder 3 of' a knob I d on the `other side.

The ball bearing l is supported in a xed frame Il in which it is asado held inpcsmcn by the retaining 'ring lz. A

as shown in Fig. 1 whereby the impulse trans` mitting contacts are operated.v A bracket '2l vis fixed to the frame II as by screws 2|. This bracket is ln the form of a yoke having a central ring-shaped portion 22'which isconcentric with the shaft 1. Upon the ring 22 there is mounted a ring gear 23 which is held in place by a retaining rlng'2l fastened by screws 26 to an outwardly extendlng flange 2l formed in the ring 22.

' To the. ring gear there are mounted a plurality of contact-carrying arcuate segments. three of which are shown as 21, 2l and 2l. These are fastened to the gear y23 -by the screws 3l to 3l; The holes through which Ithese screws pass are velongated whereby the angular positions of the arcuate members 21 to 2l can be adjusted. The

` members 21-to 29 carry fixed contacts 38 to 3l,

respectively, and movable contacts 3l to Il, respectively. The movable contacts are mounted on arms 42 to u pivoted on the members 21 to 2l at Il, Il and I1. The arms I2 to Il are pro- `vided-with cam followers Il to B0, respectively'. which are urged against the cam by the springs II to I3. While the cam followers are on the high portions o f the cam l, the several sets of lcontacts are open but as the cut-away portion ofthe cam 5 reaches eachA of the cam followers .l2 to, its contactsclose. It will be noted that .thecutinthe cam isradial atthe leading edge;

hence the contacts are closed very rapidly and wear of the cam does not aifect the-timing.

srnc ccntac are connected xn circuit with thel Signal impulse transmitter, for example, an underwater compressional wave-transmitter Il as shown in Fig. 10. Interposed in the circuit is a selector switch 54 whereby any one of the three sets Aoic'ontacts can be selected for the operation of the transmitter 55. Therefore, although each setof contacts is closed once in each rotation of t the cam I, nevertheless only one set of contacts 'is effective -to operate the transmitter depending 'upon the position of the switch 5I. By this means different depth ranges can be recorded- `the position of the switch M indicating which section of said range has been selected. The selector switch has a pointer at one end which Points' to the position indicating sector il' o`n which the different positions such as I, 2 and 3 may be indicated.

-Il by means of the screws t0, 6I.

Since the position of the ring gear 23 on which the contacts are mounted must be adjustable, as will hereafter appear, the movable 'contacts 39, Il and 4I areinsulated from the rest of the apparatus and are connected by brushes 13, 1l and 18 to slip rings 1l, 11 and 18. respectively, which are mounted on a second yoke 19 fastened to the yoke 20. These slip rings (omitted from Fig. 10 for simplicity)y are connected to the'three contact studs of the selector switch 54. The stationary contacts, 31 and 38 may begrounded to the frame. Now, it is important that the transmitted signal impulse be sent out at precisely the instant when the stylus I is at the correct angular position with respect to the depth graduatlons on the chart. For the first depth range, that is from zero to, say. '15 feet, the cam follower 48 must drop into the cam depression I9v and thereby close the contacts 38, 38 at preciselythe instant the stylus I crosses the zero line. In order to make a convenient adjustment for this purpose, the ring gear 23 is engaged by a worm 56 which canl b'e rotated through the flexible shaft 51 by rotating the knob 58. By turning this knob the relative position: of the contacts 36, 39 with respect to a predetermined position of the stylus is Thereby the contacts can be made to close at the instant the stylus is in' any prede-` termined position with respect to the record paper. It may be noted here that by the use of an irreversible motion transmitting system such as` the worm and ring gear shown, the position of the contacts can readily be changed at any time without having to operate any additional lock- 'ing mechanism.' Moreover, a remote control is provided by the ilexibleshaft so that the adiustment can be made from the outside of the instru'. ment case. However, since ali-the contacts are mounted on the ring gear 23, all of them will be moved angularly together by this adjustment. For the succeeding depth ranges, therefore, the contacts 31, Il and 38, II must, therefore, be independently angularly adjusted with respect to the contacts 33, 39. This is accomplished by adjusting therelative positions of the segments 21, 2l and 23 by means of the screws 30 to 35. The angular separation between the several-sets of contacts can be correctly adjusted duringfactory'aembly and it'need not thereafter be disturbed. Zero adjustment for the rst depth range will then be enective for all the others.

Upon the member 2l there is mounted a scale The scale carries'three sets ofgraduations 62, it and 6I. The upper set of graduations 82 is arranged adjacent an index which is fastened to the mem-A ber 22 and therefore remains fixed in position.` The lower sets of graduations I3 and 84 are adjacent an index "which is mounted on anarcuate plate l1 which is similar to the contactcarrying plates 21', 20 and 2t. It is held onthe 423.' By rotatingV the screw 10 by means of its knurled head vI2 the position of the plate 61 with respect tothe contacts is thereby altered. Now

it will be observed that rotation ot the mob to and ently oi the ring gear 28 changes the instant of closing of the various tting contacts with respect to the-stylus position by an amount in depth units indicated by the index 66 on the scales t3 and t4.

Having properly set the contacts for zero position on the chart, the position of the scale-car-1 rying member 5S is adjusted by loosening the screws 3u. tl until zero o! the scale B2 is opposite the index tb. By means of the screw 1B the index B6 is set at the zero mark of scales B3 and B4. With this `setting the depth readings on the chart will be in terms of the depth beneath the compreional wave transmitter and receiver.

Ii the depth of water from the surface be desired. come-wf` must be made for the draft escasos and squat oi the vessel. In other words, to makeV the record on the chart read directly in terms of depth below the surface, the signal impulse must be sent out after the stylus l has crossed the zero mark by the time required by the stylus to move a distance on the chart equal to the ships draft and squat. To do this, the screws @d and el are loosened and the scale 82 is shifted until the proper graduation corresponding to the sum of draft and squat is opposite the index t5. The knob 58 must then beturned until the index t6 is again opte the zero mark between the scales Si and G5.

Should it be desired to have the recorded depth read directly in terms of mean sea level, the state of the tide must be taken into account. If the tide is above the mean value, the knob t@ is turned until the index it moves to the right of the zero mark to a position on scale tt corresponding to the height of the tide above the mean value. Similarly, should the tide be below the mean value, the knob 5t is turned in the reverse direction until the index t is opposite the graduation on scale td corresponding to ,the amount by which the tide is below the mean value. In the former the tted signal is emitted at a time before the stylus crosses the zero line, therebysubtracting a corresponding amount from the depth actually measured; while in the latter the reverse is true whereby the necessary unt is added to the measured value.- Thus the recorded values yare automatically reie to level.

:i t ol' river surveys it may be desirable to have a f?, t record not of the depth of water in the river, but oi the height ot the river bottom above level or other datum. For this the last calibration line on `the record paper cent the margin at which the stylus leav the paper is considered as a reference line, i of the calibration line adjacent the c f at which the stylus starts across the paper as is the usual case. By rotating the mob the index @t is then set opposite the tion on ale which corresponds to the dlece between the total chart width in scale units the wn elevation o! the river surface ave .in question.' It will be observed 1 adlustments for elevation and tide very y 'and frequently be changed and that e.; them does not vary e ici-the surveythe correction ing vessels draft and squat.

'Ihe record paper 2 is preferably of the type having' a 'carbonized or otherwise electrically conductive my with a thin coating thereon adapted to be discolored or burnt' away by the passage oi an electric current through the pa- 'I5 per. .Thepaperliswoundonaspoolwhence itp over a roller 8|, thence over a marking platen 82 by power supplied by sprocket drum 8S having teeth adapted to engage periorations in the paper, and thence to a take-up spool 86.

The spocket drum 83 is driven by a ratchet mechanism shown in Fig. 5. A cam 96, whose shaft 37 may be driven by the motor I3 by means not shown, bears against a roller 89 journaled on a stud 90. which is fastened to one arm of a lever t8 pivoted at 9| The other arm of the lever et is provided with a plurality of studs 82 to 9E. A link Q6 may be hooked on either of these studs to transmit a. greater or lesser degree of motion to the bell crank t? pivoted at te. One arm of the bell crank 8l is pivoted to the link @t at 93. The other arm of the bell crank carries a pawl it@ pivoted at itl and urged by a 'spring it? against ratchet wheel E63 which is ilxed to the shaft d8. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the shaft @d carries a worm lli which engages gear wheel lili which is free to revolve on the shaft ide lined to the drum 83. Rotation of the gear itt is transmitted to the drum 83 by an ggg-running clutch mechanism' to be described Referring again to Fig. 5, it will be evident that the amount of angular rotation of the sprocket wheel ltlt is determined by the particular stud on the lever 8d to which the link 9B has been connected. The stud S2 gives the least motion and therefore the slowest paper feed while the stud t5 gives the greatest motion and the fastest paper feed. As previously mentioned, the

choice of paper feed depends upon the detail it is `desired to have visible on the record obtained.

In order, however, to have an indication at all times of the rate of the paper feed, the studs t2 to @5 are insulated from the lever t3, the construction being as shown in Fig. 6. The apertures in the lever 8d for the several studs are made larger than the diameters of the studs so that insulating material it? can be interposed. The studs are held in position in the lever B8 by a shoulder Hit, a. washer yIt@ and nut Ht. The end of each stud has a second shoulder il I forming between it and the shoulder ist a groove into which the end of link may be tted. The end of 96 is provided with a keyhole aperture H2 so that itmay be slipped over the shoulder Hl on any one of the studs Q2 to t5 without adiustment of any kind. For this purpose a spring 9%' is provided which is fastened to a stud t1' projecting from the link SB. The other end of the spring M is xed to the frame by means of the projecting bar 98' which carries a pin to which the spring is fastened. This spring exerts pressure on the link 98 holding the link 9B and the rocker bar 88, coupled to one another without any lost motion.

As shown in Fig. 7 each of the studs 92 to 95 is electrically connected to one of four indicating lamps IIB to H8, respectively, whose other terminals are connected to one terminal ci a battery or other power source lll. The circuit is completed through ground to the link es. Therefore, only one of the lamps Iii! to IIS will be illuminated, depending upon the particular to which the link is at the moment ccnr matic and remote indication of the rate of paper When the switch |20 is closed, theelectromag-v net ||8 is energized so that it attracts the.pawl preventing the latter from engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel |03 and preventing` the automatic mechanism from advancing the Paper.

In order to permit free manual advance oi the record paper at all times, an overrunning clutch as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is provided. As above described, automatic advance oi' the paper is ob-l tained through the worm 38 which drives the gear |05. The'latter has mounted near its periphery a block |2I` held by screws |22. The block |2| has a conical hole |23 and is slotted atits upper portion at |24. A disc |25 having a hub |26 fastened 'to theshai't |03 of the sprocket drum 83 projects into the hole |23 through the slot |24.. On the two sides of the disc |25 within the hole are two hardened steel vballs |21 held in place by retaining members 28 fastened to the block III. Rotation of the gear |05 rotates the block |2| in sucha direction as to cause the balls |21 to move toward the small end of the hole |23 and thereby to engage the disc |25. This causes the latter to rotate with the gear |05 and thereby to drive the drum 83. On the other hand, manual rotation of the knob |28, which is fastened to the drum shaft |08,-rotates the disc |25 so as tocause the balls |21 to move towards the large end of the holei23, thereby permitting free rotation or the drum 83 so that the paper can be advanced ireely by hand. By this construction the use of a friction clutch in the paper driving mechanism is avoided and knob |28 may easily be turned. Moreover.'

drum 83 is driven positively by gear |05. 'I'he marking stylus itselftogether with its From the stylus the circuit passes through record paper 2 to the platen 02 and back through ground .to the transformer secondary |33. 'When a reilected signal impulse is received, the ampliner |31` is energized and causes a current impulse to passA from'th'e stylus through the record paper thereby making a mark.

It will be noted that the stylus is mounted at a relatively small angle with the paper surface, namely about degrees. The stylus arm'shovfid therefore not befrotated'backwards. for if this were done, it would be likely to tear the paper and bend the stylus. Moreover, backward'rotation of the contact-operating cam 5 must also be avoided because of the shape of the cut I3 in the cam and of the cam followers which might thereby be broken. To prevent such backward rotation, the shaft 1 has an overrunning clutch |64 mounted on the en'd of the shaft. The inner element of the clutchis keyed to the shaft 1; while the outer element is fixed to the frame ot the instrument. As shown in Figfza the'clutch may. for example. be provided with an extendthe drilling and tapping of the holes for the screws |66, |51', no machine work need be done.

In order to indicate on the record the instant the survey ship passesa predetermined position on its course it is desirable to be able readily to make a distinguishing mark or "fix" on the record paper. For this purpose the operating coil 43 of relay |4 is energized from the battery or other power source |41 by closing the key |40. This causes the movable contact |42 to move toward the relay coil Iand connect with contact |49 which is connected to battery or other power holder is shown enlarged in elevation in Fig. 8.

'Ihe stylus which may consist of a steel or other hard, electrically conducting wire is removably held in a clutch or vise |30 controlled by thumb nut |53 which is iixed to an arm |3| pivoted at |32 in au-shaped bracket |33 which is secured to the rotating arm 3 by-the screws |34 (visible in Fig. 2). The stylus end of the arm |3| is urged against the record paper 2 'as it travels over the platen 32 by means of a spring |35, the tension of the spring being adjustable by means of the screw |35. The operatingicircuit for the stylus includes the receiver ampliiier |31 which suppliesthe primary 33 oa voltage step-up transformer. 'I'he ,/secondary winding |33 of this transformer has one end grounded, the other end being connected to onestationary contact |40 of al single pole,'doublethrowl relay |4| having a movable contact |42 and an operating coil |43. When the coil |43 is not energized.

contacts |40 and |42. are closed. Contact |42 is connected to terminal |44 on the stylus holder through a brush (not shown) which bearsagainst slip ring |55 (Fig. 2). Terminal |44 is connected to the movable stylus arm |3| by the flexible lead |45. I'he entire stylus holder is completely insulated from the arm 3 by a blocl:`

source |50 and thence to ground. During the transit of the stylus i yover the record paper, the current, therefore,.passes from the stylus through the paper so long as the key |48 is' depressed. By this means the stylus can be made to make a mark completely across the pape when the key |48 is closed.

In survey work from 'a moving vessel it is fr'equently necessary to take note o! the ships position. This may be done by4 noting the ships bearing with respect to fixed objects whose position is known. In4 order to be able subsequently to identify such records of the ships position from time to time, it is desirable to havea time indication lon the record chart. This is accomplished as shown in Fig. 9. A secondary stylus 5| y supported from a spring |52 and an insulating block |53 mounted von the platen 02 produces short marks |54 near the margin-of the record-paper by means of the circuit shown in Fig. 9. A cam wheel |55 driven by a clock mechanism periodically closes contacts |54 which are connected in a series circuit containing battery or other power source |51 and .operating coil |50 of a relay |53. Closing of contacts |50 closes relay' contacts |30 which apply voltage from a battery or other power source |0| between` stylus |5| and platen 32, whereby deiinite predetermined Vtime intervals are automatically recorded on the record paper. Since the length oi these marks vary with the paper speed in use at the time, the paper speed is also automatically indicated.

Having now described my invention, I claim: 1. In a depth sounding. recorder having an indicating means and a reference means, means fox recording selectively dierent sections oi' the the,

completerange ot depths with the indicating means moving across said reference means, comprising said indicating means, means carrying said indicating means for rotating the same in continuous rotation, a part oi said rotation comprising an arc across said reference means, a cam supported in fixed relationship with said rotating means, a member concentric with said rotating means and said cam and having mounted thereon a plurality ofl pairs of switch contacts adapted to, be successively closed by the movement of said cam and to control the production of the sounding impulse with 'reference to the instantaneous position of said indicating means in its rotation with reference to the reference means, means for adjusting the position o! said member relative to the position oi said indicating means when set in a given xed position on said reference means, and means for selecting one of said pairs of switch contacts to select the desired section of the'range tobe recorded.

2. In a depth sounding recorder having an indicating means and a reference means, means for recording selectively different sections oi the complete range of depths with the indicating lil means movingacross said reference means, comprising said indicating means, means carrying the said indicating means for rotating the same in continuous rotation. a part of said rotation comprising an arc across said reference means, a cam supported in iixed relationship with said rotating means.- a member concentric with said rotating means and said cam and having mounted thereon a plurality of pairs of switch contacts adapted to be successively closed by the movement of said cam and to control the production of the sounding impulse with reference to the instantaneous position oi said indicating means in its rotation with reference to the reference means, means corded. l v

l ALBERT E. ANDERSON. 

